Day at the Beach

I did not take my camera with me for my walk today. It was late and the light was failing. “Eh,” I thought to myself, “There probably won’t be anything to see anyway.” Naturally, the rabbit that always runs stood perfectly still today. I also spotted no less than four land snails, each with its head sticking out, not to mention several free-roamers (slugs). I could have brought home one hell of a photographic slimefest, but instead, all I got was extra sweat as I upped the pace of my walk.

But let’s be honest. I probably needed to sweat more than I needed pictures of snails, however cute they may have been.

Now, lest you think I haven’t been properly exercising my soul, I offer you these pictures from last Thursday. I had to go into the office that day, and conscious of the fact that I need to take better care of myself, I dutifully took a full hour’s lunch. I spent most of that hour at Silver Sands in Milford.

This is the view from the end of the boardwalk that leads from the parking lot, through the salt marsh, to the beach. I like this picture because it introduces the park and Charles Island, but next time I need to remember to keep the horizon straight!

When I lived in Milford, I used to walk to a beach from which I could see the opposite side of this island. One of my only regrets about leaving Milford is that I never tried to reach the island, which is connected to the shore by a sand bar that is accessible at low tide. Legend has it that Captain Kidd buried his treasure there.

This is another view of the island from farther down the beach.

There were some huge beach roses growing in the marsh. I tried to photograph them, but I couldn’t get close enough. I had to settle for Queen Anne’s Lace, but isn’t it pretty? In this picture, I tried to capture the individual flower, the field of flowers behind it, the boardwalk, and the gorgeous summer sky.

In this next picture, I focused on the ladybug while also trying to capture the embroidery-like background of the other flowers.

It was a beautiful day and it felt like the sunshine would last forever, but a storm hulked on the horizon. By the time I finished work, it was pouring rain and thundering as if the gods were wrestling directly over the office building. There was a man standing near the exit, looking out the door. He said, “It’s tornado weather.” When I prepared to leave, he said, “Is it really worth it? There’s a lot of lightning. You might not melt, but you could get struck.”

As paranoid as I am, I’m not afraid of thunderstorms. I love them! I pulled my hood over my head and made a run for it. About halfway to my car, a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, right over my head. For a moment I really thought I was going to get hit. It would have ticked me off, and knowing that the guy was watching would have made it worse. I survived unscathed, though, and this scene, with the mysterious man warning someone not to go out into the storm, is the kind that might make it into a book someday. That is, if I ever find the time to write one…